Detroit Pistons midseason grades

Detroit Pistons Swedish forward Jonas Jerebko, second left, watches from the sideline during their NBA basketball game against New York Knicks at the 02 arena in London, Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

There's not sugar coating it, the Pistons have been disappointing in the fist half of the season.

Detroit is 14-25, which is good for 11th place in the Eastern Conference and entering Saturday night is six games out of the final playoff spot in the East.

The Pistons finished last season .500 in their final 42 games and hoped to contend for the playoffs this season. An 0-8 start to the season put Detroit behind the eight ball and a six-game losing streak in December put the Pistons at 7-21.

The Pistons are 7-4 since the six-game losing streak, but still battle with consistentcy.

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Detroit will really have to turn things around in the second half of the season to contend for a playoff spot or it will be a fourth straight trip to the lottery.

While it's not quite the midpoint of the season for the Pistons yet (they will play their 41st game Wednesday), it's as good of time as any to hand out the midseason grades.

(in alphabetical order)

Will Bynum -- Bynum started off the season slow, but has come on strong as of late. Bynum averaged just 5.3 points and 2.5 assists in the month of November and fell out of the rotation for a few weeks. Since being inserted back into the rotation he's averaging 12.5 points and 4.7 assists, and the Pistons are 7-4 during that span. Grade: C+

Austin Daye -- Daye began the season buried on the depth chart and didn't start playing any meaningful minutes until mid-December. Daye responded when called upon. He's been solid off the bench and since being inserted into the rotation is averaging 6.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, shooting 47 percent from the field and 53.6 percent from 3-point range. Grade: C

Andre Drummond -- The 19-year-old rookie has exceeded everyone's expectations thus far. Thought of as a project, Drummond has averaged 7.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in less than 20 minutes per game. Drummond averages 13.2 points, 13.4 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per 36 minutes. Drummond leads the NBA in offensive rebound percentage at 16.6. The scary part is Drummond has likely just scratched the surface of his potential. Grade: A-

Kim English -- English was in the rotation through the first six games, but hasn't been able to find any consistent playing time since. English played well in a three-game stint with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the D-League, averaging 18 points, 5.7 assists and 5 rebounds per game. English is a high-character guy, but gets an incomplete due to his lack of playing time. Grade: Incomplete

Jonas Jerebko -- The 2012-13 season has been a nightmare thus far for Jerebko, who is averaging a career-low 5.6 points and 3.0 rebounds. Jerebko began the season as the backup power forward, but after a slow start in the Pistons' first 13 games was taken out of the rotation. He's played in just one game since. It's tough to grade Jerebko based on just 13 games, but he's struggled. Grade: D+

Brandon Knight -- Knight's averages of 13.7 points, 4.3 assists and 3.6 rebounds are all improvements from last season, but Knight has struggled with consistency this season. Knight has scored in single digits 11 times this season, including four games with two points or less. He's 14th in the league with 113 turnovers and has five games where he's recorded one or zero assists. Expectations were high for Knight after a solid rookie campaign and he's played well in spurts, but has to be more consistent. Grade: C+

Vlacheslav Kratsov -- The rookie out of the Ukraine has played in just two games this season and is often on the inactive list. He gets an incomplete. Grade: Incomplete

Corey Maggette -- Maggette missed the first eight games of the season due to injury and never seemed to get into a rhythm once he returned, averaging 5.3 points and 1.4 rebounds, while shooting 35.5 percent from the field, all career lows. He's currently out of the rotation and it's clear his days of being a premium scorer are behind him. Maggette's biggest asset this season has been his leadership. Grade: D+

Jason Maxiell -- Maxiell is having a career-year, averaging career highs in points (7.8), rebounds (6) and blocks (1.5). Maxiell has started every game this season and has provided toughness inside for the Pistons. Maxiell will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season so his name could come up in trade talks near the deadline and the Pistons have to decide if he's a part of their future plans. Grade: B

Khris Middleton -- Middleton has played in just three games this season and two of those appearances were for less than two minutes. Middleton averaged 11 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3 assists in a three-game stint in the D-League. Grade: Incomplete

Greg Monroe -- Monroe is not playing quite at the All-Star level he was at the halfway point of last season, but is averaging a respectable 15.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists. Monroe's biggest improvement has been his passing, his 125 assists through 39 games this season is more than he had in 80 games as a rookie and is just 27 less than he had in 66 games last season. Grade: B

Tayshaun Prince -- Prince has been pretty consistent for Detroit this season, averaging 12.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists. He's provided solid defense and has been a leader in the locker room. Grade: B-

Kyle Singler -- The rookie out of Duke has been the team's starting shooting guard through the last 31 games. Singler's scoring has dipped a bit since he averaged 9.9 points in the month of November. He averaged 7.6 points in December and through six games in January is averaging just 6.5 points. Grade: C+

Rodney Stuckey -- Stuckey had a slow start to the season and volunteered to come off the bench. Stuckey had a strong December averaging 15.1 points, 6.1 assists and 3.2 rebounds. But his 11.8 points per game on the season is the lowest since his rookie year. Stuckey has missed five games this season due to various injuries. The Pistons need Stuckey to be more consistent. Grade: C

Charlie Villanueva -- Villanueva began the season out of the rotation, but took over the backup power forward spot in late November. Villanueva's averages of 7.8 points and 3.2 rebounds aren't stellar, but he's provided the second unit with outside shooting. Grade: C

Dave Pemberton covers the Pistons for The Oakland Press. Email him at dave.pemberton@oakpress.com and follow him on Twitter @drpemberton.